Hidradenitis Suppurativa

Today will be injection number four. This needs to be the money shot!

Thank you for your prayers!💉💊🩹🙏🏾

Tomorrow will mark week five being on my new biologic, Bimzelx. 2-6 weeks is the time period where most seem to notice improvement. I’m not entirely sure of how the process is working with me.

I’ve noticed an increase in drainage from two areas in particular, but I’m unsure if it’s the workings/process of the medicine or purely draining flares. My prayer is to be patient and allow myself time to see improvement…within reason of course. I’m trusting Jehovah to answer my prayers for great improvement and no impactful side effects.

In the meantime, I’ve been continuing to live and look for as well as create moments for joy. I appreciate Jehovah giving me the will and spirit to not be overtaken by my life challenges.( Prov. 24:10)He also has given me people in my life that make some of these happy moments possible.(Pro.17:17)

Three weekends ago I was able to have some friends over my sister Lori’s home and then spend some extra days with her. There’s a great joy and satisfaction I derived from being with people I care about and seeing them enjoy themselves. (Acts 20:35) Last weekend I was able to attend my meeting with some friends followed by lunch. That was very refreshing. It does a lot for my spirit to be with those that are doing their best to stick to the formula… persevering in service to Jehovah despite life’s trials. It’s a nudge to my soul to keep going!

Yesterday I hosted my field service group for a meal at my sister Lydia’s home, and that made for a nice day.

I in no way doubt that Jehovah takes note that I’m striving to conquer and not be conquered. I greatly appreciate his hand in keeping me where I need to be, with those I need to be with and doing what I need to do. 🙏🏾

Today is my first dose of Bimzelx. I’ll no longer be taking Humira. Praying Jehovah allows this medication to be very helpful for the long term and not cause bothersome side effects.🙏🏾💉

1. Spent a week with my sister Leah. I enjoyed hanging out, watching movies, chatting and sharing in the ministry with her. It’s uplifting to my spirit to be with her and see her zeal to serve and preach about our heavenly Father Jehovah.

2. Got approved for a new biologic, Bimzelx. This was prescribed as it seems the efficacy of Humira is waning for me. I’m planning to stop the humira and begin the Bimzelx in a couple weeks.

3. Made plans to fly to Georgia to see my sister-friend Leslie. Hoping this won’t be thwarted with all the airport issues.

4. Had a beautiful and spiritually enriching weekend sharing in the campaign for the upcoming special discourse, “Who will restore the earth?” as well as the memorial of Christ death.

An ever occuring thought for me in these past weeks, has been to “Follow the formula.” By that I mean, abide by and stick to the spiritual activities Jehovah tells us to engage in. This life is far from what our loving creator Jehovah intended for it to be, but the contentment, peace and satisfaction that result from regularly studying his word, attending Christian meetings, preaching to others and being around those that are doing the same, is beyond fulfilling! I’m so thankful for being able to see this for myself and reap the benefits. Jehovah is truly awesome!🫂🙏🏾💪🏾☺️

A year ago today I received my first Humira injection. Time truly goes by quickly!

After years of being hesitant because of side effects, I decided to give it a try. Humira gave me a notable measure of relief and stamina to do things I hadn’t for many years.

Ironically, at this one year mark, I’m in the process of trying to get approved for another biologic to treat my HS. Being in tune with my body, I feel the effectiveness of the Humira is decreasing.

Bimzelx is a recently approved drug that has some good reviews within my HS community. My prayer is to be approved and have increased and long lasting benefits from this new drug.🙏🏾🙏🏾

Mondays aren’t typically considered a day to celebrate. I however, am celebrating in my spirit after the resolve of a flare on my buttocks that made it impossible to sit!!

March will mark a year of being on Humira, and while it has helped significantly, it’s not a cure. It’s imperative that I proceed with the same caution and consciousness that I did before the medication.

This consciousness demands that I manage what I take into my spirit, just as much as what I ingest physically. With Jehovah’s help and a solid support system, I generally acknowledge, process and work through my issues pretty well, but the fact remains that I’m human, and sometimes life is a lot to contend with.

As mentioned before, Humira has been a great drug for managing my Hidradenitis, but life’s stresses led to me flaring in my chest, right buttocks over these past two weeks or so, and somewhat of a In-N-Out game with one that I’ve had for a while in my groin area.

The chest area opened some days ago thankfully. It’s still a little sore, but that’s to be expected. My behind, however, has been the most challenging, stubborn and painful area since a flare I had in 2017. The medicine greatly decreases the discomfort, but it’ll likely always give me a hard time.

After many prayers, topical concoctions and the prayers of my family, I awakened to a disgustingly  wonderful puddle of pus and blood in my bed under pad!😁😁🥳🥳🙏🏾🙏🏾👏🏾👏🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾

I thank Jehovah and my support team for helping me through ❣️

1. You can see the cyst, large enough for you to palm, surrounded by scar tissue and damaged skin from old flares.
2. Another pic of right buttocks.
3. Drainage on underpaid.
4. Blood on chuck I keep on my floor.
5. More drainage
6. Clean chuck I found on my bed, after my dear nephew cleaned up while I showered. 🥰😘🫂💓

All that said, we’re calling this a good day! Mental reset, prayer, moving and operating wisely and being mindful. Psalms 55:22.

One would wonder about the significance of a water bottle, and what makes it a picture worth posting.

Backstory – This past Sunday our refrigerator conked out 🤦🏾. The freezer was no longer freezing and the refrigerator later gave out as well. I was able to order a replacement, but in the meantime, foodstuffs needed to be preserved. Delivery wouldn’t be made until today.

To know James Devon Rivera, is to know that he fully embodies the good-heartedness, character, helpfulness and tangible love of his mother. He’s my heart!

In response to the situation. He gathered and bagged food from the refrigerator and freezer, placing them outside in a covered container to benefit from the freezing temperature. I so appreciate how he’s always at the ready to step in!

Not having the normal comforts of life calls for adapting pivoting. One way I had to adapt the past couple days, was not having my frozen waters. Little did I know that my sweet baby boy had put waters outside, in addition to the food. It was soooooooooo nice having him bring that to me yesterday evening. I thoroughly enjoyed it.🥰 He’s my mini ride or die and ALWAYS has been.

I love you James Devon Rivera! Thank you for always having your auntie’s back!

At a time when many have lost and are losing medical benefits, I’m very thankful to have been notified that my Humira will be covered for the 2026 calendar year. This is no small thing and I thank Jehovah for this.

My sister Lori, working with insurance companies etc on a daily basis, advised me a couple times in the past months to make sure everything was set in place for my continued coverage. I appreciate this, because once again, nothing in this temporary but very messed up system is promised. However, I received my notification today.🙏🏾🥰 💉

I’m also thankful to have my little 2002 Camry still running for its momma. I was able to get her oil changed and tires rotated. I was due to bring it in the early morning hours on Friday, but they let me bring it Thursday afternoon. Lori followed so that I only had to utilize Uber once when picking it up yesterday and allowed me to rest longer. These are all big things to me. They cause me to reflect on the stabilizing, supportive and invaluable presence of those people that live out their lives in such a way where I know I can consistently rely on them…..EVEN IF I NEVER HAVE TO. I in turn strive to continue living my life by the highest standards of my God Jehovah so that I can do the same.🙏🏾

It’s been at least a year since I’ve purchased/eaten granola in my yogurt. I had a long run with the Bear Naked brand, but it began to taste too sugary to me. I was suspicious about how much sugar it actually contained. I then began using the Simply Elizabeth brand. It was okay, but I opted to leave it alone and only add berries and nuts to my Greek yogurt.

Today, I decided to make my own concoction. Something to give me that desired crunch and only containing what I chose to use. I poured some vanilla oat milk into a bowl of dry oatmeal, added cinnamon, nutmeg and a drizzle of my sugar free syrup. I baked this mixture in the air fryer until crisp and voila…my own homemade granola….yaaay me!👏🏾👏🏾

I lay here now, full of gratitude for my heavenly Father Jehovah! I’m grateful that he has allowed me to be able to do so many things in these past eight months that I either, wouldn’t have been able to do, would’ve done with great difficulty or would’ve just been too uncomfortable to do at all.

This new space allows me to feel great joy in seemingly ordinary things, that prior to now would’ve been very challenging!

Today I was able to do laundry at the Laundromat, browse in a thrift store I’d never been to before and get takeout for my family. Very recently, I would’ve chosen one or maybe even none of the three. I’m almost giddy reflecting on these accomplishments.☺️

Yesterday was special for me as well. My dear sister Lydia arranged for me to accompany her in cart witnessing, something I only had the privilege to do once a long time ago. Her enthusiasm for me being able to accomplish this was very encouraging. I felt like I had my own personal cheerleader.🥰🥰🤗🤗

Working backwards over the past couple months, I was able to extend hospitality to some friends in my sister Lori’s home and with her assistance. Again, something I hadn’t done in quite a while. Last week, Jehovah also gave me the strength to prepare a full meal for my family. That felt good.

Being able to do more socially and feeling a fuller effect of Acts 20:35 and 3 John 8 has enhanced my joy that has resulted from finding an HS treatment that works. My heart is glad and I take none of this for granted.🙏🏾💕🥰

1. Heading to cart witnessing. 2. Today’s takeout. 3 My favorite… Ice from Wawa😁